Student Activism for Skill Development (Opinion)

As a director for career, professional, and community development, I design programs for graduate students to help them develop skills in areas such as oral and written communication, research, teaching, leadership, networking, well-being, and community support. Part of that work is pointing out different ways they may be able to exercise those skills.

While I have an array of examples that I share with students, it only recently occurred to me to think of protests as having such potential. In this commentary I speak about the direct and powerful ways students can apply the skills we teach them at university (knowledge application, communication, rhetoric, etc.) to pivotal challenges in the real world. In particular, I focus on the ways in which students are translating what they learn in higher education into activism and advocacy for change.

I write through the lens of massive student-led protests taking place in Serbia (my home country) over the past three months. The protests were sparked by the deaths of 15 people on Nov. 1, when part of a newly renovated railway station collapsed. The Serbian government, known for its authoritarian rule, has denied allegations that government corruption and nepotism resulted in shoddy construction, while students have, among other demands, sought justice for those who are responsible.

The ongoing peaceful protests model how students can apply skills and subject matter they learn in the academy outside its walls. Today’s Serbian students are literally demonstrating what the ancient Greeks taught us about democracy, civic duty and engagement.

While this piece isn’t explicitly political, it portrays current events in Serbia by highlighting actions that can be taken when democracy is under threat and analyzes how, in this critical moment, academic skills and expertise can support peaceful revolution. My goal here is not to ignite protests of any kind but to show that student activism, paired with knowledge and transferable skills, is where the real power is—not with those who rule, but with students and educators who are empowered to advocate for changes.

Professional Development in Action

With this goal in mind, I will share some specific ways the Serbian protests have been an incredible opportunity for professional development and practice of both academic and transferable skills.

• Knowledge application: Even though the regular functioning of Serbian universities has been suspended, students are putting their academic knowledge into practice. This takes many forms: law students pointing out holes in the judicial system, education students proposing reforms at all levels of education, civil engineers in training identifying errors that led to the tragedy at the railway station and demanding explanations and accountability, artists creating a wide range of artistic works about the current issues, journalism students writing and reporting about the protests, and psychology trainees running support groups for peers during these highly stressful times. These are just some examples of how students have been putting into work what they’ve been studying at their respective colleges and doing that work with one another. This is an example of interdisciplinary work at its best as students from a variety of disciplines collaborate on all these projects.
• Leadership: While we tend to see leadership through the lens of an individual, in the case of the Serbian protests, there is not one single student leader. Instead, they are taking turns leading different working groups, projects and initiatives. In this way they are learning from each other and allowing everyone to have an opportunity to develop and practice this important skill. This collective approach offers more equitable access to leadership, one that relies less on personal traits that are usually observed among leaders, and pulls more from one’s expertise on a given matter. A common goal and the common good serve as motivators and sources of inspiration. I encourage graduate students to think about areas and topics where they could make their contribution alongside others gathered around a common cause.
• Communication: The protests are organized through various working groups, such as groups on media and communication, logistics, safety, etc. Students use their communication skills in several ways and on several levels by, for example, circulating information among themselves, communicating with the public, and informing authorities about their protests to obtain necessary permissions for large gatherings. All of these require an array of communication skills, as students must make adjustments in their messages for different audiences and stakeholders. Identifying, understanding and engaging in the right ways with different audiences are some of the key steps of effective communication. The work gets even harder when some of your key audiences disagree with your point of view. Student protesters regularly issue press releases and social media posts that are written extremely effectively and professionally. Activism on any level provides rich opportunities to practice those critical communication skills in a real-world context that’s virtually impossible to simulate in the classroom.

• Teamwork/collaboration: As I already noted, these protests are massive. They involve hundreds of thousands of people in multiple locations across the country. Organizing these large protests in a way that ensures everything stays under control requires immense teamwork and collaboration among large groups of people, many of whom are meeting each other for the first time. That in itself requires advanced interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity because students are coming from all around the country and beyond the borders of Serbia. Being on the same team does not require being the same in every way. The greatest challenges of the world can be solved only through the collaboration of multiple groups from a variety of disciplines, backgrounds, social statuses, and so on. Being able to navigate differences and stay focused on the common goal sounds like an obvious thing. However, it takes a lot of conscious effort and training to be able to do it successfully.
• Fundraising: Blockades have been underway for more than three months now, and that demands resources. Students put a fair amount of effort into fundraising and making calls for donations in the form of meals/food and other resources, such as mattresses (they sleep in their college buildings), paint, fabric and poster boards for the protest materials. They’ve inspired many to support their fight, and donations come from all around the country and the world. Just the word “fundraising” makes many people cringe. However, I believe it’s important to think about fundraising in terms of a much wider range of engagement opportunities than the most common one—monetary donations. Time and talent are just two more examples of how one can make a nonmonetary contribution and still help support a cause.
• Networking and advocacy: Student protests have restored long-lost faith in change and democracy among Serbian people. As is the case for many countries with authoritarian governments, Serbia is suffering from a so-called brain drain. Serbian students are pushing for systemic reforms in Serbia to stop the demographic decline. Students are championing justice, democracy, equality, dignity and solidarity for all. This movement has united Serbs worldwide, with peaceful protests occurring across the globe and the Serbian diaspora is raising global awareness and showing support. I regularly join the Boston group and have connected with several students from my alma mater; I know other Serbs who are doing the same. While we stay focused on supporting the current fight, we’ve also discussed future opportunities and other ways we can help as these students get ready to step into their careers. As many career advisers will point out, networking can happen anywhere and at any time, even during protests.

Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

I want to end this piece with a reminder and emphasis that this commentary isn’t about politics or a call to students anywhere to join protests. This is an example of how professional development opportunities can occur everywhere. Advocacy can come in the form of supporting local business. Fundraising can be organized for a charity of one’s choosing. Teamwork can be exercised in starting an initiative to clean a local beach. Leadership can be practiced through forming a club or student organization.

What I hope readers get out of this piece is that you shouldn’t wait to apply your knowledge in a job that is closely related to your field. Seek opportunities where your subject matter expertise will be valuable for the greater good. I hope this piece inspires you to shine and showcase your skills and knowledge in every possible context that you care about and value.